Sources

Compared to contemporary civilizations such as Rome and Greece, far less is known about Carthage; most
indigenous records were lost following the wholesale destruction of the city after the Third Punic War.
Sources of knowledge are limited to ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, Punic
inscriptions on monuments and buildings, and archaeological findings of Carthage's material culture.[15] The
majority of available primary sources about Carthage were written by Greek and Roman historians, most
notably Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus.
These authors came from cultures that were nearly always in competition, if not open conflict, with Carthage;
the Greeks with respect to Sicily,[16] and the Romans over dominance of the western Mediterranean.[17]
Inevitably, foreign accounts of Carthage usually reflect significant bias, especially those written during or
after the Punic Wars, when the interpretatio Romana perpetuated a "malicious and distorted view".[18]
Excavations of ancient Carthaginian sites since the late 19th century have brought to light more material
evidence that either contradict or confirm aspects of the traditional picture of Carthage; however, many of
these findings remain ambiguous.

History

Further information: History of Carthage

Foundation legends

The specific date, circumstances, and motivations concerning Carthage's founding are unknown. All
surviving accounts of Carthage's foundation come from Latin and Greek literature, which are generally
legendary in nature but may have some basis in fact.

The standard foundation myth across all sources is that the city was founded by colonists from the ancient
Phoenician city-state of Tyre, led by its exiled princess Dido (also known as Queen Elissa or Alissar).[19]
Elissa's brother, Pygmalion (Phoenician: Pummayaton) had murdered her husband, the high priest of the city,
and taken power as a tyrant. Elissa and her allies escape his reign and establish Carthage, which becomes a
prosperous city under her rule as queen.

The Roman historian Justin, writing in the second century AD, provides an account of the city's founding
based on the earlier work of Trogus. Princess Elissa is the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre, who upon his
death bequeaths the throne jointly to her and her brother Pygmalion. After cheating his sister out of her share
of political power, Pygmalion murders her husband Acerbas (Phoenician: Zakarbaal), also known as
Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart, whose wealth and power he covets.[20] Before her tyrannical brother
can take her late husband's wealth, Elissa immediately flees with her followers to establish a new city abroad.

Upon landing in North Africa, she is greeted by the local Berber chieftain, Iarbas (also called Hiarbas) who
promises to cede as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide. With her characteristic cleverness,
Dido cuts the hide into very thin strips and lays them end to end until they encircle the entire hill of Byrsa.
While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of an ox, an omen
that the city would be wealthy "but laborious and always enslaved". In response they move the site of the city
elsewhere, where the head of a horse is found, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and
conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of Carthage, derived
from the Phoenician Qart-Hadasht, meaning "New City".